GALLAGHER, Francis Joseph
| Service Number: | 3208 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bemboka, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Lismore, Lismore Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Eureka Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 4 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Ypres Reservoir Cemetery Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane 41st Battalion Roll of Honour, Eureka Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3208, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 3208, 41st Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Feb 1917: | Embarked Private, 3208, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Two Gallagher brothers from Eureka in the Northern Rivers district of NSW, enlisted together on the 30 October 1916. Neither of the brothers survived the next 12 months. They left Australia together on the 7 February 1917, with consecutive regimental numbers, 3207 and 3208 in the 41st (Queensland) Battalion AIF.
They joined their battalion in Belgium mid way through August 1917. Francis Joseph Gallagher, taking part in his first attack was hit by a shell during the 41st Battalion’s advance during the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge on the 4 October 1917. He was last seen badly wounded on a stretcher with compound fractures of both legs, and is buried in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. Francis was only 23 years and 10 months old when he died.
His older brother, Frederick Arthur Gallagher, aged 29, also in his first action, was killed in action the next day, 5 October 1917 when struck in the head by a piece of shell and killed instantly. Although accurate map references are given as to his burial, his remains were never found and he is remembered on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.
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